Heart Center

Diagnosis & Treatment

Medical Conditions Treated:

Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction blockage of one or more major heart
arteries):Any sudden drop in oxygen supply to the heart that results in heart muscle
damage or any sudden disruption of heart function, typically resulting
from obstruction of a coronary artery and often characterized by severe
chest pain.

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD): Obstruction of large arteries outside the heart or brain, which can result
from atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), inflammation leading
to narrowed blood vessels, an embolism, or blood clot, causing a lack
of blood supply. Often used to refer to atherosclerotic blockages in the
lower extremities.

Embolization: A nonsurgical, minimally invasive procedure performed by interventional
radiologists involving the selective occlusion of blood vessels, in other
words deliberately blocking the blood supply to an organ or blood vessel.

Prophylactic Pulmonary Embolism prevention: Prevention of a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its
branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body
through the bloodstream (embolism). PE most commonly results from deep
vein thrombosis (a blood clot in the deep veins of the legs or pelvis)
that breaks off and migrates to the lung.

Deep Vein Thrombosis: The formation of a blood clot (thrombus) in a deep vein, usually in the
legs, causing pain, swelling, redness, warmness, and engorged superficial
veins (those close to the body's surface).

Stroke: Occurs when a part of the brain dies because it goes without blood for
too long. Strokes can happen when the blood supply to a part of the brain
is cut off, because an artery in the brain gets clogged or closes off,
or an artery in the brain starts bleeding.

Internal Bleeding: a loss of blood that occurs from the vascular system into a body cavity
or space, which can be a serious medical emergency depending on bleeding
rate and location of the bleeding (e.g. brain, stomach, lungs). It can
potentially cause death and cardiac arrest if proper medical treatment
is not received quickly.

Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR): Repair of aneurysms, or thinned and weakened walls of the lower aorta,
by inserting a Gortex stent and metal scaffolding inside the artery to
relieve pressure of blood flowing past the defective section of the aorta.
The incision is made in the groin and the stent is fed through the femoral
arteries through the aneurysm.

At Bozeman Health Cardiac Catheterization Lab, providers can perform diagnostic
procedures such as angiograms to determine if there are blockages in the
heart, as well as intervention procedures such as coronary angioplasty,
stenting and repair of holes between the heart's upper chambers. Since
the Cath Lab opened in 2003, our Heart Center team has completed more
than 1,500 diagnostic caths, nearly 1,000 interventional procedures and
implanted more than 400 pacemakers.

Our specialists provide a number of life-saving and life-improving procedures,
many of which, thanks to advanced technology, can be provided via catheters
inserted into blood vessels and no longer require surgery. Vascular and
radiology procedures offer additional diagnostic and intervention options
for patients with blockages outside the heart, as well as procedures for
certain cancers. In all, nearly two dozen procedures are now available
in Bozeman.